US President Joe Biden’s unexpected stop in Kyiv on Monday is the highlight of his visit; it’s a gesture worthy of John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan’s speech in Berlin, as well as President Lech Kaczyński’s visit to Tbilisi in 2008, political scientist Irena Lasota tells PAP.PL.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden ended his visit to Poland. He arrived in Poland on Monday evening – he had visited Kiev earlier that day. On Tuesday he met with President Andrzej Duda, he also gave a speech to the Polish nation and on Wednesday he took part in the Bucharest Nine Summit, ie the countries of the eastern flank of NATO: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania , Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.
According to Irena Lasota – a political scientist, founder and director of the Foundation for the Development of Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEA) in Washington – the highlight of this visit was President Joe Biden’s unexpected stop in Kyiv on Monday.
This is a gesture worthy of President John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan’s speech in Berlin, as well as one worthy of President Lech Kaczyński’s visit to Tbilisi in 2008. Russia was at war there too. Tbilisi was under fire. It was not only a heroic step, but one that changed the course of the war
Lasota remembered.
Leaders of different countries have come to Kiev, but in the case of the US president, it means that he is drawing the entire United States (in support of Ukraine), including future governments
Lasota noticed.
“That’s a very far-reaching statement.”
According to her, Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine and Poland will go down in history “regardless of whether someone likes Democrats or not”.
President Biden gave a very important assurance in both Kiev and Warsaw that the United States will support Ukraine and cannot imagine Russia winning this war. This is a very far-reaching statement
she stressed.
Lasota also pointed out that Joe Biden’s visit to Poland and Ukraine demonstrated the rebirth of NATO unity in the face of war and the Russian threat.
Three years ago, hardly anyone believed that NATO could get back on its feet. Today it is the other way around: NATO is more closely connected than ever before
she stressed.
According to the columnist, from a NATO security and unity perspective, Joe Biden’s emphasis on the validity of Art. 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and preparedness of Allied defenses in the event of aggression against any of its member states.
This is (equivalent to) defending the NATO border with Belarus, the border with Ukraine and the border with Russia, because let’s not forget that Poland has a border with Russia in Kaliningrad – the most armed region of the Russian Federation
– she said.
Chisinau and Minsk
Joe Biden also referred to Moldova and Belarus during Tuesday’s Arkady Kubicki speech in Warsaw, pointing to the strength and importance of the democratic opposition in these countries and their aspirations to belong to the European community.
Asked about the significance of this fragment of the US leader’s speech, Lasota pointed out that it emphasized that the United States did not agree with the expansion of Russia’s sphere of influence to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
The fact that President Biden mentioned these two countries, which are insignificant from the point of view of world politics, is very important, because it shows that the administration and politics of the most important country in NATO know that Belarus and Moldova exist. with their problems and will not allow Russia to take them over
she rated.
Hungarian politics
Lasota also referred to Hungary’s policy towards the war in Ukraine. She said it was a good thing that Prime Minister Viktor Orban had not come to Warsaw for the extraordinary summit of the Bucharest Nine.
In the current situation, President Andrzej Duda or Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki should make it clear to him that they are no longer on the same side. Poland’s alliance with Hungary concerned ideological and cultural matters, but when Russia invaded Ukraine, the situation changed radically
Lasota noted.
Hungary claims to be involved in peacekeeping activities and tries to find a compromise, but the Hungarian foreign minister, who has been to Moscow and Minsk since the beginning of the war and is also a Russian medalist and friend of Lavrov, is not the best face for the European Union
she added.
According to Lasota, in terms of aid to Ukraine, it is likely that “Hungary will succumb to pressure from other EU countries, but they hope they can negotiate some money for themselves.”
kk/PAP
Source: wPolityce